Church, this is how it’s done!

PRAY.

What is a successful church? Would Jesus surprise you by saying at least one measurement is being faithful in the face of opposition?

The downfall of Sadaam Hussein was also the downfall of security for Iraqi Christians. Hussein was a brutal dictator but he tolerated none of the Muslim on Christian attacks which are now frequent. Since 2003 over half of the 1.4 million Christians have fled the country in fear for their lives.

In early May the General Secretariat of the Islam Supporters (Ansar al Islam) sent an Iraqi bishop a letter warning Christians in Baghdad and elsewhere to…

…leave the country of Muslims [Iraq] for good and immediately in the form of mass transmigration. You can follow Pope Benedict XVI and his followers who have disfigured humanity and Islam. There’s no more room for you, infidels, among the Iraqi Muslims. Our swords shall be placed upon your necks and the necks of your followers and other Christians residing in Mosul.

So what’s a good description for the Iraqi church? “Persecuted”. Sure. How about “successful”? Successfully enduring persecution is what Jesus commended the Christians in the sixth of the 7 churches he wrote to in Revelation 2-3. FIND Revelation 3:7-13. If there’s one thing we’re learning in our study of these 7 churches it’s that Jesus cares about the condition of His churches. READ.

1. We got an “A”! (3:8-10)

The church at Philadelphia—no, not the home of the Phillies or great cheese steaks. This one was about 25 miles from Sardis, oddly enough a city about the same age as our Philadelphia: 300 years old. A great place to farm—unless you were adverse to earthquakes.

No two churches could be more alike than the two in Sardis and Philadelphia. The one we looked at last week got an “F”, but this one got an “A”.

The church had “little strength”, literally “little power”. It was not big, not very influential. Little strength doesn’t mean weak faith. Just the opposite was true of these Christians: …you have kept my word and not denied my name. …you have kept my command to endure patiently.

Unlike some of the other 7 churches their opposition was not from pagans, but Jews. Just like in Smyrna, the other “good” church. Jesus denounced the opposition as fake Jews (9) who were members of …a synagogue of Satan (9). Ouch. Whether they denied Christians work, or threatened them or stole their property, jailed them, or even killed some, we don’t know. What we do know is that none of them caved to the pressure. Which became their reputation. Because the church in Philadelphia would remain faithful for another 1300 years, even after Islamic power had swept across the region.

The words of commendation meant a lot to these faithful believers because of their source.

2. Why the Grade Matters. (3:7)

For the first five letters, Jesus introduced himself in ways he was depicted in John’s vision in chapter 1. For churches 6 and 7 he departs from that and becomes more pointed that, “the one talking to you is God.”

Him who is holy and true… Literally, the Holy One, the True One. If you were a Jew well-versed in your OT, somebody said “Holy One” and you go, “Oh, you mean God!” READ Isaiah 40:25. Even the demons were savvy. READ Luke 4:34. The Holy One.

And the True One. This was a broadside fired over the heads of the Philadelphia Christians at their Jewish opponents who did not believe Jesus was true, let alone the True One. Today many people choke on the very word “true” because they don’t really think anything is purely true or purely false; it just is. Many label claims that something’s exclusively true, arrogant. Because it eliminates all competition.

But this is our Jesus: Holy One, True One, God. As such He has every right to assess His churches corporately, and those of us who comprise those churches, individually. Every right to warn, “You’re a bad church” or praise “You’re a good chuch".

In v.7 Jesus presents one more credential; He has a key. Now there’s something important to have at certain times. Last year the pastors drove 2 hours to Mahlon Stoltzfus’ cabin, and as we rolled into the lane Pastor Charlie casually said to me, “I hope you have the key.” Oops. Ever come back from shopping to your locked car only to find the keys inside? Oops.

When king David died it was as if he locked up his office and hid the key. Even though his son Solomon wore his father’s crown and ruled Israel, he did not have that key. The OT prophets said that key was being reserved for the Messiah who would one day acquire it, unlock the office and rule from King David’s old throne. That key has more power than anyone can imagine. READ Isaiah 22:22.

Gabriel told Mary her son, Jesus would become that ruler, get that key. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end. Luke 2:32-33. That kingdom began with his birth, but will only reach its fullness after God brings to an end his awful wrath upon the earth. Jesus will come and unlock David’s old office and take charge—not just of a small nation east of the Mediterranean, but the whole earth.

Who He is, is why Jesus’ evaluation matters.

3. What the “A” Means.

   1. Open Door (3:8)

Many early Christians were Jews. They met with other believers but also kept going to the Jewish synagogue. Seems that the Jews in Philadelphia had tossed these Christians from membership and bolted the door to the synagogue. So when Jesus described an open door to these believers in v.8, it was not some golden opportunity for evangelism or mission work (which would be a foreign concept interrupting the context of vv.7-9).

Instead Jesus was reassuring this small band of His followers that though barred from the synagogue, he’s got heaven’s door propped wide open to the faithful. As He said in v.7, He is the door master: whether open or shut, Jesus makes sure his doors do exactly what He means them to do: shut ones cannot be dynamited open, and neither brutal men or hordes of demos can close open ones. His doors provide maximum security.

2. Protected from the future Hour of Trial. (3:10)

What “hour of trial” is Jesus going to keep the Philadelphia Christians from? OK, this is time to stick our toe into the first of numerous controversies that Revelation is famous for. Is this a mention of a rapture? For the uninitiated, the Bible teaches that just before Jesus comes back to set up his kingdom on earth for 1000 years, God will unleash His wrath upon mankind for 7 years—the first 3½ marked by apparent world peace, and the last 3 ½ by disasters and horror. Essentially, the disaster and horror of those days is what Revelation 6-19 is all about.

But not all Bible students who agree that’s what’s going to happen, agree about whether or not Christians are here for part or all of that wrath. There are 3 camps:

• Jesus is going to take all living Christians to heaven 3 ½ years before that (pretribulational rapture)

• Jesus is going to take all living Christians to heaven right before that (midtribulational rapture)

• No, we have to go through that horror too. (no rapture; or postribulational)

This is the most debated verse in the Bible on this issue. Everyone agrees God’s going to send calamities to the world to test mankind. But is Jesus is going to protect faithful Christians like the Philadephians by removing them from the world, or by somehow keeping them safe while yet in the world. “From” is the key word and the bottom line is, Revelation describes God’s wrath as horrific and while it’s very difficult to see how Jesus would protect his followers in it, it’s very easy to see how He would protect His followers by having a rapture remove them from it—either before the 7 years, or in the middle before the really awful stuff starts.

3. Someday your Jewish oppressors will admit I love you.

Wouldn’t that be satisfying? If you’re bullied knowing that one day the bully gets his due? The Bible leaves no place for Christian revenge. You want to get even with someone you are outside of the will of God. But God getting even is another matter altogether. READ Romans 12:19. Every one who sets himself against God’s children will face a day of reckoning. So, these Jews will one day admit that they were wrong to reject Jesus; wrong to oppose His followers.

Whether or not these Jews will be coerced to do this and dread it, or due to their own conversion gladly admit it, we’re not sure. But the believers will be vindicated.

4. Personal prizes: Temple pillars, permanent residents, bearing important names

The final threefold collection of prizes Jesus promises these overcomers in Philadelphia all ooze permanence: they’ll be temple pillars; they’ll never leave; they’ll have permanent names stamped on them (God’s, the New Jerusalem’s, Jesus’ new name).

Concl:

This is the church to mimic; this is how it’s done! Not even so much as a hint of rebuke from Jesus. And His endorsement trumps any other endorsement. Today we’re measuring churches by a hundred yardsticks while forgetting to ask, “But is this what matters to Jesus?”

READ Galatians 1:10. Pastor Wilson was an evangelist among Nigeria’s Muslim population in the lower plateau state. Many in the village had confessed Christ joined Pastor Wilson’s ministry, creating community tension. In 2004 he was ambushed and killed, his body mutilated. A young son fled one direction, Wilson’s wife and two other sons, another. ‘

After running several miles she blundered into an Islamic militant camp. They urged her to renounce Christ but she declared, “Nothing can stop me from loving Jesus; not your swords or your guns!” As she spoke, they shot one of her sons dead. As Nampuk—the other son ran, they shot him. Thinking he was dead, they turned from the bleeding boy who lay helpless on the ground, watching as they killed his mother.

“Nothing can stop me from loving Jesus.” That’s a successful Christian, the foundation of a successful church.